Kashmiri activist Mushaal Mullick has called on the government to urgently lift the ban on Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) and the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), warning that Pakistan is facing an intense information war from India.
“India is running an aggressive campaign against Pakistan on social media,” she said while speaking to reporters in Islamabad. “We are in the midst of an information war, and the entire Indian state machinery is working to malign the Kashmiri freedom movement.”
Mullick stressed that in such critical times, the voice of the Pakistani people must be amplified globally through unrestricted access to digital platforms. “We are dangerously close to conflict,” she warned. “The nation must stand with the people of Kashmir and speak up.”
She urged Pakistanis to actively engage on social media to counter hostile narratives and present Pakistan’s stance to the international community. “The nation must rise and use social media to present Pakistan’s stance to the world,” she added.
Tensions between Pakistan and India have escalated following Indian media allegations linking Islamabad to the recent Pahalgam attack in Anantnag District of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir. The Pakistani government has strongly rejected these accusations.
In response to rising hostilities, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif chaired a National Security Committee (NSC) meeting in Islamabad, where the country’s leadership reviewed the regional situation, including India’s announcement to hold the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance.
The NSC issued a strong statement declaring, “Water is a vital national interest of Pakistan, a lifeline for its 240 million people, and its availability will be safeguarded at all costs.”
It further warned that “any attempt to stop or divert the flow of water belonging to Pakistan as per the Indus Waters Treaty, and the usurpation of the rights of lower riparian will be considered as an Act of War and responded with full force across the complete spectrum of National Power.”
The situation remains tense as diplomatic and security officials continue to monitor developments.
